By Ayomide Otitoju
Fidelity Bank has seen a remarkable 20% surge in its stock price on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, surpassing the N13 mark by the third week of September 2024. This growth follows the bank’s successful combined offer, which included a Public Offer and Rights Issue launched on June 20, 2024, further boosting investor confidence and market participation.
The combined offer comprised 10 billion ordinary shares priced at N9.75 for the public and 3.2 billion shares at N9.25 for existing shareholders, raising a total of N127.1 billion. After a consolidation period from June to August, Fidelity Bank’s shares have gained over 20% in September, marking a significant upswing.
Since its dip below N2 in August 2018, Fidelity Bank’s stock has maintained a strong bullish trajectory, rising more than 680%. The bank opened 2024 at N10.85 with 900 million shares traded, but recapitalization uncertainties among Nigerian banks led to a temporary drop to N9 per share in April. Despite this setback, the stock recovered, gaining momentum after touching a low of N9.
By mid-September, following the completion of the combined offer in August, the stock gained over 20%. A driving factor behind this latest surge is the success of the combined offer, setting the stage for an upcoming private placement. Fidelity Bank’s offer, the first in the current recapitalization phase, saw high demand, leading to the addition of 8.2 billion shares—5 billion through the Public Offer and 3.2 billion via the Rights Issue. This demand spurred increased market activity, with over 2 billion shares traded in June and 3 billion in July.
After concluding the offer on August 12, the stock entered a consolidation phase, with trading activity picking up significantly by mid-September. Weekly trading volumes hit 27 million shares, propelling the stock above the N13.00 threshold and sustaining the upward trend.
In a recent note to investors, Fidelity Bank’s Managing Director, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, OON, expressed gratitude for the strong response to the capital raise. “With the conclusion of the Combined Offer, I am delighted to announce that we have met and surpassed our capital-raise target for the first phase of this exercise,” she said.
She further thanked customers, investors, and shareholders for their support during the capital raise and acknowledged the roles of regulators, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX). “The CBN’s vision of recapitalizing Nigerian banks is critical to ensuring that banks have sufficient capital to support a $1 trillion economy in the near future and improve overall confidence in the banking industry,” Onyeali-Ikpe added.
Fidelity Bank’s successful capital-raising efforts and the resulting stock surge underscore the bank’s growing market strength and the continued confidence of its investors.
